1. Field
This disclosure relates to a medical use driver tool and, in particular, to a torque-limiting driver that disengages at a predefined torque limit and counts a predetermined number of cycles.
2. General Background
Torque-limiting drivers are widely used throughout the medical industry. These torque-limiting drivers have a factory pre-set torque to ensure the accuracy and toughness required to meet a demanding surgical environment.
The medical industry has made use of both reusable and disposable torque-limiting drivers. In a surgical context, there is little room for error and these drivers must impart a precise amount of torque.
Reusable drivers require constant recalibration to ensure that the driver is imparting the precise amount of torque. Recalibration is a cumbersome task but must be done routinely.
Disposable drivers are an easy to use and reliable alternative to the reusable drivers. Typically, each implant, for example, is packaged with a disposable driver designed to the implant's specifications. Once the driver has been used beyond its intended use or intended number of cycles, it should be discarded. Thus, a surgeon can have complete confidence that the disposable driver, packaged with an implant, will impart the precise amount of torque.
Knowing when a disposable driver has reached the predetermined end of its functional life is a desideratum.